St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-01-07
TOTAL DEPRAVITY.
A Horrible Mess of Dirty Family
Linen Washed in Court.
The Martin Divorce Case a Salacious
and Sentimental Mess.

ever came up in the district court was that
of Albert P. Martin against Mary E. Mar
tin. which was begun yesterday morning
before Judge Lochren and a room full of
spectators. The case is certainly an odd
one, and the attorneys around the court
house are taking deep interest in it. Mr..
Martin. white-haired man of SO years,
alleges that his wife, woman of 46, COM
mitted adultery at various times between
| May % and Sept. l, of 1885, with one Eu-
gene A. Bassett. who Was then boa rd-
| ing at the house. Mr. and Mrs. Martin
have been practically separated for several
years three years ago Mrs. Martin getting
limited divorce from her husband in Da-
kota county, on the grounds of cruel and
inhuman treatment. Eugene Bassett, the
alleged paramount of Mrs. Martin, is her
| son-in-laW. having married some time ago
Miss Laura Martin. What makes the case
| still more sensational is the fact that the
lawyer for Mr.. Martin is G. W. Crosby. the
father of Mr.. Bassett'S first wife. she hay
ing secured divorce from him some time
ago, after having him arrested and jailed
at Saltwater for being too intimate with
another woman. Mrs. Bassett No 1
and her mother are also present.
and during the day kept up most
| disgusting giggling and whispering. as
though the affair was particularly pleasant
one. Theree are many curious cOmbina-
tons to the case there being brother against
brother. husband against wife, son against
mother. divorced wife against husband, and
brother against sister. Mrs. Bassett was in
court all day and sat by the side of her
mother, whom she tried to cheer, although
she appeared to suffer terribly in the ordeal
that she was undergoing. Mrs. Martins
sister-in-law also sat near her, and OCCASION
| ally whispered words of consolation. Eu-
| gene BaSSetU, the man who is alleged to
have caused all the trouble, sat in the center
OF the whole party, and occasionally took
notes of the proceedings. Mrs. Martins
two sons. one about II and the other %,
sat on the fathers side of the house. and
watched the proceedings with cynical air.
Mary Lawton, a domestic formerly en-
plOyed at the residence of Mrs. Martin, was
another of Mr.. Martins witnesses and oc-
cupied prominent seat on his side of the
table. During the day she and Mr.. Martin
, looked at each other quite frequently and
smiled in knowing manner. 1t is charged
by the Mrs. Martin faction that in case Mr..
Martin gets the divorce he will wed the fair
Mary. and endeavor to find happy home
with her.
The principal witness in the morning was
Albert Martin. the 14-year old son of Mr..
aad Mrs. Martin. His brilliant red hair
fairly glowed as he assembled the platform
upon which the witness chair stood. lie
shot a quick glance at his mother, his sis
ter and her husband, and then looked at
his father and began to give his testimony
in clear. steady voice. AS he proceeded
to tell how he had witnessed his own
mother and Bassett in bed together. not a
| blush came to his cheek and not shadow
of shame passed over his face. His father
did not seem visbly affected by the testi-
mony, and when anything particularly
salacious was said would look over at Mrs.
, Crosby, her daughter and Mary, and wink
his eye with considerable velocity. In the
afternoon Mary Lawton, fresh-faced,
rOSy-cheeked lass of about 90 years of age,
with an abundance of brown hair, and
| dressed more like real estate mans wife
| than a serving maid, was called. She went
on the stand with a jerk and t1irt OF her
dress, and related how she had witnessed
various acts of indiscretiOn on the part
| of Mrs. Martin and Mr.. Bassett, and told
/ her story as though she enjoyed it. She
was sharp enough not to be caught by any
| cross-eXamnatlon, and to an unbiased OBJ
server it looked as though she had spent
about six weeks studying her part. She
| Indignantly denied that Mr.. Martin had Of
fered her 500 to testify against Mrs. Mar
| tin. and mildly insinnated that certain let
tiers alleged to have been written by her
we're written by Mr.. Bassett, whom she
had heard remark that he could Initiate any
handwriting i'll the world.
Mrs. Bassett, looking white and sick, was
| the next witness. She has been seriously
i'll for some time, and did not look strong
enough to stand the strain that was put
upon her. She swore that at the time Mr..
3asSett and her mother were al
legged to have acted in an inn
proper manner, she was sick in bed. Mr..
Bassett was then boarding at the house.
she said, and had been very kind to her.
He was in her room much of the time. and
she was sure she would have known it had
he and her mother behaved in an improper
manner. Mrs. Bassett demonstrated that
she possessed as much if not more, brains
| than the lawyer, and three or four times
shut him up in manner that must have
made his head swim. During the time she
was on the stand her father sat down near
her. and instantly Mrs. Bassett removed
her chair several inches away, remarking as
she did so, Il don't want to sit near that
thing" Mr.. Martins attorney made an
attempt to prove that she had once found a
copy of a Saltwater paper containing an
account of how Bassett had been arrested
and imprisoned at Saltwater for adultery,
but objection was made to this by Mrs.
Martins lawyer and the court sustained it.
Peter Martin, a brother of the plaintiff
was placed on lhe stand when Mrs Bassett
finished giving her testimony. He said his
brother had once tried TO get him to act as
a go-between and secure divorce for him
on the quiet. but he had refused thinking
his brother did not have sufficient proof of
Mrs Martins infidelty. He swore that he
knew nothing against Mrs. Martins char
acter but paused and replied that ''he did
not want to answer when asked about his |
brothers reputation for truth and veracity. |
IF you please" said he, THAT is ques-
ton that l would rather be excused from |
answering" Numerous other witnesses |
were placed on the stand to try and blacken |
the character of Mrs. Martin. but little |
satisfaction was obtained from any of |
them, and the lawyer finally gave up in |
dIgust. To-day Mr.. Bassett's former wife |
and her mother will probably be placed on
the stand to tell what they know about Mr..
Bassett's reputation for morality and |
veracty. All of yesterday Judge Lochren
wore a terribly Disguised look. and once,
when witness began to attack Mr.. Bassetts
reputation, remarked dryly: Never mind